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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29345070">Dreaming of Red</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BWPR/pseuds/BWPR'>BWPR</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Archie Comics, Archie Comics &amp; Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Talking To Dead People, What Was I Thinking?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:09:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,219</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29345070</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BWPR/pseuds/BWPR</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When he pulls Cheryl out of the river, he swears that for a second he sees Jason standing next to him in the reflection in the bloodstained ice. After that, he began to see Jason. In the bathroom mirror, hovering behind him as he gets dressed in the morning. In the trophy case, walking beside him down the hallways. It seems like every time he sees the other, he's closer and closer.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Archie Andrews &amp; Cheryl Blossom, Archie Andrews &amp; Jason Blossom, Archie Andrews/Jason Blossom, Cheryl Blossom &amp; Jason Blossom, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dreaming of Red</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So don't even ask me how I came up with this concept, because I can't even tell you. I didn't really know how to end this, so it feels a little open ended. Not beta read, so please let me know of any mistakes! Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It seems like after Jason died, Archie had taken the place of the dead redhead. The same position on the football team, with the same number no less. Riverdale's new Golden Boy, Cheryl's new other half, and even the Blossoms had begun to bring him into their tightknit family. Apparently Jason had private sessions with Grundy as well, and he didn't want to think about what that implied.</p><p>But Archie felt less like the replacement and more like a parallel. The other side of a coin, connected to Jason in a way he hadn't realized until the other was dead. Then they learn the truth about Jason's death, murdered by his own father. When he pulls Cheryl out of the river, he swears that for a second he sees Jason standing next to him in the reflection in the bloodstained ice. As he carries her to safety, he glances back only to see nothing.</p><p>After that, he began to see Jason. In the bathroom mirror, hovering behind him as he gets dressed in the morning. In the trophy case, walking beside him down the hallways. It seems like every time he sees the reflection of the deceased Blossom heir, the other gets closer and closer until it seems like there is no space between them at all. Whereas he started out on the opposite side of the room, now the ghost is always in his shadow. Inches away, arms so close to brushing that it makes Archie hold his breath. He doesn't always see the other, and he begins to find himself searching all reflective surfaces for a glimpse of red. At some point, seeing just himself in the reflections made him feel oddly disappointed. He made it a point to only glance at the other, knowing that just staring outright at the other's image would not go over very well with the rest of the student body.</p><p>Then he starts hearing him. It starts as whispered words, echoes of laughter, before he can hear the other clear as day. Jason talks like he knows no one can hear him, an openness Archie has never experienced from anyone, let alone the other boy. As Archie lays in bed, trying to sleep, he whispers of his childhood, of his love for his sister, of Polly and the child they were going to have, and of Archie. The last was a shocker, as he didn't know the other even knew he existed.</p><p>The Archie before summer was a nobody, a ray of sunshine that touched others and sang of romance he didn't actually experience, but no one other than Betty and Jughead ever thought twice about him. Now he was lean with muscles, a handsome jock with a sensitive side, and it seems like everyone wanted to be his friend. Jason spoke of how he used to subtly keep the jocks away from Jughead, because he knew Archie would try to protect him if he didn't. He spoke of how Cheryl and him used to drive by the construction site throughout the summer to get a good look at a shirtless and sweaty Archie. He was both flattered and creeped out, wondering why Jason was into him when he was in love with Polly. When writing songs or playing his guitar, Jason would speak of how talented he was, of how his music made people feel things. He would offer advice and criticism, but made it clear he thought Archie was amazing. And he wished that they would've talked when he was alive, how they could've played together and bonded over their love of music. Archie found himself wishing that as well.</p><p>He quickly realized that Jason was rather opinionated. He would say it was Betty's problem for being upset about the feelings he didn't return, that Jughead was a bad friend for not telling Archie what was going on with his dad and the Serpents, and that Veronica would be the death of him if he tried to pursue a serious relationship with her. But above all, he lamented on how Archie was shit at communicating with the people he loves and that's why he makes so many bad decisions.</p><p>And Archie, although he was careful to never let on that he had heard Jason, would sometimes act on what he said. Betty was still his best friend, but now she knew that it was unfair of her to expect him to return her feelings. She felt quite bad once she got over herself that she had been trying to force her feelings on him, blaming him for something he couldn't control. Jughead now knew that Archie would be there for him through it all, but he couldn't help him if the other didn't tell him when things were going sideways. And Ronnie was now a value member of their squad, but nothing more than a friend. While there had definitely been a spark between them the first time they met at Pop's, she was too cold and assertive for Archie to feel comfortable opening up his heart in a romantic way to her. He knew she found him too soft, too close to breaking at all times. So their past kisses and flirtations faded away, forgotten.</p><p>Sometimes Cheryl would seek him out and just spend the day at his side (always the side opposite of Jason, making it feel like the twins were escorting him around). It seems like after saving her, maybe even before that, she had developed a crush on him, but he was careful to never give her hope where there was none. She could be a bitch, but she had a heart of gold. He knew she was just lonely, and sometimes he wondered if she could feel Jason's presence when she was with him. He could admit that sometimes he felt different, these weird hallucinogens of Jason separating himself from his friends in a way he didn't understand, and that maybe he needed Cheryl too. He still kept his problems to himself though, classic Archie Andrews style.</p><p>Then he began to feel Jason, like a presence that was always there. It started with the feeling of a breeze on the back of his neck where there was no draft. He then realized that it was the feeling of Jason breathing on his neck. He became aware that he could feel the other's gaze on him, a warm tingling that seemed to trace every part of him. It was uncomfortable at first, unseen eyes always following him, glued to his person. But after awhile, he found comfort in knowing that someone was always watching over him, that he was never alone. He would never admit to the way the lingering stares seemed to ignite something in him.</p><p>Then he began to feel the touches. He was aware that when he would glimpse the other in reflections lately, he was always being touched, but it didn't really mean anything until he started to feel it. An arm brushing against his, fingertips trailing along his face, and a hand grasping his own. He had to stop himself before his hand could curl around a hand that wasn't really there.</p><p>The other was there through it all; from when he saved Cheryl, when his dad was shot, when Grundy was found dead, when the Black Mask began terrorizing their town, when Archie started the Red Circle, when Hiram Lodge descended upon the once peaceful town of Riverdale, etc. Archie thinks he could've been easily been manipulated by the gangster if Jason hadn't yelled at him for being so foolish to fall for the other's gambit. And whenever he didn't listen to the other, bad things happened. He bought a gun and pointed it at a Serpent. He started a cult. He got buried alive by Betty, though the alternative option was being killed by the Black Hood. Jason also stopped him from following the men that robbed them at the Lodge's lake house. When they heard a gunshot moments later, Archie was immensely glad that he listened.</p><p>Archie had never been in a better place mentally and emotionally before. He had numerous friends, many that he would have never imagined. From his closest companions like Jug, Betty, and Veronica, to new ones like Kevin, Josie, Cheryl, Moose, Reggie, Toni, Sweet Pea, etc.</p><p>But in a way, he was lonely. He had not been in any sort of romantic relationship since Grundy. It seemed wrong to go on dates and make out with romantic interests when Jason was always there, always watching, always alone. He felt bad, curbing the interests of Valerie and then later Reggie and Sweet Pea, but he just didn't feel a connection to them. The sensation of a hand holding his own definitely had no impact on this, nor did the way Jason wouldn't talk to him for awhile after he responded positively to another's interest.</p><p>He began to dream of pale skin, of red hair and lips. Arms holding him against a strong chest, kisses on his neck, hands caressing everywhere. If Jason ever noticed him waking up from these dreams (and he was always there, so he definitely had to notice), he never said anything, never looked at Archie differently. If anything, the touches increased in frequency. As they walked down hallways, there was always a hand resting comfortably at the small of his back. There was an arm around his shoulders as he sat on the couch, a thigh pressed against his as he sat on his bed. Though he couldn't see the other except in reflections, it seemed like he could always feel his touch.</p><p>And then weird things began happening around him. It started small; his pencils never where he put them down, his song book opened to a different page. It got progressively odder though. A book falling off the shelf when he didn't wake up to his alarm, a lunch packed and waiting for him when his dad was already gone for the morning. And then there was a peak. There were a few new clothes in his closet, books he didn't remember buying were now on his bedside table. He began to grow wary. It was one thing when Jason was just an image in a reflection, was just a phantom sensation or voice, but now there were physical manifestations of his presence. And Archie was forced to face the fact that maybe he wasn't just a part of Archie's fucked up mind.<br/>
________________________________________________________</p><p>"That's Jason's shirt." He startled, dropping the binder he had been trying to shove into his locker. He turned to face none other than Cheryl. She was staring at his chest intensely, face pale and eyes wide.</p><p>"W-What?"</p><p>"Where did you get that? All of his things burned with Thornhill." He looked down at the shirt, noticing it was one of the new shirts to appear in his closet. He had been avoiding them, something about the way they just appeared making him skeptical about wearing them. But he had finally run out of clean shirts (he could swear that some of his shirts were even missing), so he had caved and put on the simple white button down.</p><p>"There's no way-"</p><p>"Archie, I would know my brother's favorite shirt anywhere. Unless you suddenly developed a sense of style and bought a $300 shirt, then that's Jason's." What the fuck. Oh god, what the hell. He fingered one of the buttons, and he suddenly remembered seeing Jason in this shirt. He hadn't payed it much attention, hidden under the jock's varsity jacket as it was. But now that he was thinking about it, it was undeniably the dead Blossom's shirt.</p><p>"I must admit, you look damn good in my shirt, Archie. Took you long enough to finally wear it, god knows how many of your shirts I had to hide to speed things up. Didn't expect Cheryl to recognize it though. So what're you gonna tell her? That there's a mysterious person that breaks into your house and gives you a dead man's clothes?" He has to stop himself from reacting to the voice from behind him, to the hands that settled themselves on either side of his waist, to the face that was now pressed against the back of his neck. This was too intimate, too weird, too everything.</p><p>"Can we talk about this later? Meet me in the locker room during study hall, there shouldn't be anyone in there at this time of day." And with that, he begins to speed walk down the hall, the touches falling away (he feels like he can breathe again). It feels like running away, but there are no words to explain himself.</p><p>"Fine, but if you don't show, I'll show up to your house and break down your door."</p><p>"So Archiekins, are you going to tell me what you're doing with Jay-Jay's shirt?" The moment he walks into the locker room, he is assaulted by Cheryl's questioning. He can't say he's surprised, as her frustration is valid.</p><p>"Um, well, you see..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to think of what to say. He had been thinking about what he was going to tell her for the past couple of classes, but he still hadn't thought of anything. Revealing that Jason's ghost was always with him would be admitting to Jason that he knew the other had been there the entire time, since he pulled Cheryl out of the river. And it would make him seem insane to Cheryl. He glanced in the mirror of a locker that had been carelessly left opened. Jason was leaning against the row of lockers closest to Archie, only inches away. His eyes glanced between Archie and Cheryl, a sad smile on his face.</p><p>"I'm waiting." Why now of all times was Jason silent, not a word of advice to Archie when the other normally never shut up. He couldn't lie to save his life, and Cheryl deserved the truth.</p><p>"I just found it in my closet a couple of weeks ago, along with some other shirts I swear I don't own. Only got around to wearing it now because-" He was cut off in his partial truth by Cheryl.</p><p>"So you're telling me that my dead twin brother's shirt just suddenly appeared in your closet?"</p><p>"Kinda?"</p><p>"Archie, are you aware of what utter bullshit is currently coming out of your mouth right now? All of Jay-Jay's things were either destroyed in the Thornhill fire or when the get-away car was torched, so how the fuck did some of his shirts end up-"</p><p>"I'm so sorry, Archie. I just wanted to do something nice for you. When I put those shirts in your closet, I didn't even think that Cheryl would recognize-"</p><p>"Jason put them in my closet!" He couldn't help the exclamation that pushed its way out, overwhelmed with the way both twins were talking over each other. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to hold back tears of frustration. For a horrifying moment, the locker room was completely silence, and he finally realized what he had just said.</p><p>"Excuse me?" Ignoring Cheryl, he looked to the same mirror as before. Jason was now standing in front of him, staring into his face intensely. He could faintly feel the other's breath on his face. Jason followed his line of sight and turned to meet Archie's eyes in the mirror. Time seemed to slow down, and looking in the mirror, he could almost believe Jason was alive and here and standing in front of him. Those steel blue eyes bored into his for the first time since the other's death, a blank look on his normally expressive face. He had finally been caught.</p><p>"Want to run that by me again, Archie?" He snapped back to what was going, eyes moving to Cheryl. It felt odd knowing that he was looking through Jason. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to seem more calm and put together than he really was.</p><p>"Jason. He put the shirts in my closet."</p><p>"I didn't know that you knew Jason before..."</p><p>"I didn't. He did it a couple of weeks ago, probably when I was asleep. No idea where the shirts actually came from."</p><p>"Archie...Archie, my brother is dead. Are you okay?" He sighed, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes. He pushed until the black void seemed white, until it felt like he was about to do damage. His mom used to scold him as a child for doing this, worried he would hurt himself. Suddenly, a gentle grip on his arms pulled his hands away from his eyes. The grip then slid down his arms to hold his hands, a familiar sensation. Not even considering that Cheryl was staring at him with wide eyes, he finally closed his hands around the other's. He was surprised when he met resistance instead of his fingers just passing through. He stared in awe at his empty hands, tightening his grip until his knuckles turned white with the force he was exerting on the unseen hands.</p><p>"What's going on?" He startled at Cheryl's question, automatically trying to pull his hands free but Jason wouldn't let go. The grip on his hands began to tighten to the point of painful, but he didn't try to free his hands again. The grip returned to the normal pressure after reaching a point where Archie couldn't help but wince. It was horrifying to watch the imprints of fingers digging into the flesh of his hands deepen, even more so to still feel the grip while being able to see the red marks left on his skin by the tight grip.</p><p>"Archie?" And then the touch was gone. He looked to the mirror to see Jason had turned to face Cheryl, his hand hesitating near her own. Those eyes met his in the mirror, wary and scared. He nodded, supporting the other. The other could move things now, his touch now affected Archie whereas before it was just sensation; there was no reason why Cheryl wouldn't be able to feel it. The other slowly nodded in response, eyes returning to his sister. He went to grab her hand, following her moments as she jerked at the unseen touch. Archie could see the confusion on her face turn to panic and then to utter terror.</p><p>"Jay-Jay?"<br/>
___________________________________________________________________</p><p>"So can you hear me too, Archie?" The sudden question startled him from his half asleep state on his bed. Earlier, after experiencing Jason's touch, Cheryl had backed away from them slowly, eyes searching for someone she couldn't see. Jason released her hand reluctantly, but they could both tell that she was on the verge of fainting. She had left the locker room quickly, giving Archie and his ghost a wide berth, saying she needed to be alone and think about this. Archie had been left there, standing alone with Jason. The other was facing him again, but before anything could happen, the bell indicating the end of Archie's study hall rang. For the rest of the day, he was hyper aware of the gaze of the other, of the absence of his normal touches and monologues during classes. He had been home for awhile now, his tension only increasing the longer the other didn't do anything. He would've thought he was alone if not for the feeling of eyes on him, and that Jason's image still followed him in reflections (he had checked multiple times, oddly worried that the other had left him).</p><p>"Yes, I can hear you," he acknowledged.</p><p>"How long?" He wasn't used to the closed off tone, the sharpness in the other's voice. After so long of hearing his carefree ramblings and stories, Archie felt like they were suddenly strangers.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"How long have you known that I was here?"</p><p>"...Since I pulled Cheryl from the river."</p><p>"So from the very beginning then? Great. So you've been able to see me, hear me, this entire time?" A chair suddenly flew across the room, supposedly kicked by the enraged ghost.</p><p>"No! Yes? It started out as just seeing glimpses of you in the mirror. Then I could hear you. Then I could feel you," he stammered out, curling into himself a little in response to the violence of the dead redhead.</p><p>"I've only been able to move things recently. So before, you could still feel me?" He nodded his affirmative. He really wished that he had a mirror in his room, it was unnerving to not know where the other was.</p><p>"Why didn't you say anything? Would you have ever said something if Cheryl hadn't noticed the shirt?" He was suddenly aware that he was still in the other's clothing. He moved to get off the bed, desperate to change into a different shirt, but didn't get very far. Hands pushed him back down on the bed, and too startled to fight, he found himself pinned on his back. There were hands on his shoulders keeping him down, a dip in the mattress on either side of his thighs where the other was kneeling over him.</p><p>"Answer me, Archie. Why didn't you say anything when I began to touch you? Why didn't you try and stop me when I held your hand, when I spooned you in this bed, when I-," the other paused, taking a deep calming breath despite breathing being unnecessary, "How far were you going to let me go, Archie?" And really, how was he supposed to respond to that? It was hard to focus on making coherent sentences when he could feel Jason, eyes closing despite the residues of panic. There was no one to be seen, but, with his eyes closed, every thing felt more real. There was something intimate in this, something heated that had only been hinted at before.</p><p>The pressure on his shoulders lessened then was gone entirely. Instead, there was a dip in the mattress on either side of his head. The other was still silently waiting for Archie's response, but no words he could think to say seemed adequate. Slowly, Archie brought a hand up to meet one of Jason's, the other not saying or doing anything to stop him. For the first time, Archie touched Jason instead of it being the other way around. He was still slightly surprised when his hand met the other's wrist. He had never before been able to describe what the ghost felt like, but now, given the time, he could. He could feel the soft skin of the other's inner wrist, fingers tracing over where veins popped out from the surrounding flesh. While he thought the dead teenager would feel cold, he was pleasantly proved wrong when all he could feel was warmth. Moving his hand up slightly to feel the other's forearm, he could feel the muscles Jason was using to keep himself up. Archie could feel the fine hairs on his arm, small details adding to how real the other felt.</p><p>"At first I thought you were just a figment of my imagination, some fucked up part of my brain trying to deal with everything. I kept denying that you were really here until you started being able to move things. I kept thinking in the beginning that if I didn't say anything, you would just go away. But then I found myself thinking that if I said anything, you would go away. You would stop telling me stories at night, you would stop giving me advice. I was never alone, and your touch was always there to ground me. When it started getting more...intense, I just kinda went with it. No one had touched me like that, romantically, for awhile, and it made me feel not so lonely. I don't think that I was ever going to say anything. I know that it was cruel in so many ways, but the idea terrified me." He paused, trying to think of how to answer the last question. He let go of the other when he felt the other begin to shift. The dips beside his head changed until it seemed like Jason was holding himself up with his forearms now. The other's body was now lower, a face was pressed into the junction of his neck and shoulder, and a chest lightly brushed his own. He shivered, craving the warmth from the ghost above him. The other wasn't holding him down anymore, he was free to push the unseen body off anytime, but he didn't. There was something intoxicating about being able to finally interact with Jason; to touch him, to talk to him</p><p>"I don't think I would have ever stopped you." It came out as a whisper, a soft confession to a dead boy. He didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't for Jason to roll off of him to lay next to him. A hand held his own, a bony chin found a place on his shoulder, and a leg was thrown over both of his. Archie just stayed there, flat on his back, soaking up the warm from the other.</p><p>"How are you here?" He finally asked the question that had been weighing on him since realizing the other was really there.</p><p>"I don't know. One minute I was tied to a chair and my dad was shooting me in the head, and the next I was watching FP Jones and some kid clean up the crime scene."</p><p>"That's rough, I didn't even think that you would see...that. Why are you here?" At the other's noncommittal hum, he elaborated, "Why are you here, with me? Are you stuck with me or something?" The other was silent for awhile, so long that Archie thought he had forgotten his question.</p><p>"Jason?"</p><p>"I've been with you since you saved Cheryl. At first I was following you because I was curious about what kind of person would break their hand to save a classmate. It was such a striking, beautiful, horrible scene, the red and the white, the blood and the ice, your hair and Cheryl's white dress. And then, I don't know, it just felt right to stick with you. I liked listening to you write and play music, watching you interact with your friends and your dad, yelling at you whenever you made stupid decisions, and especially just talking to you. You just feel so much, so much passion and love and hurt, and spending time with you, I've never felt more alive," the last part was bitterly spoken, and Archie didn't know what to say. The ghost had chosen, was choosing, to spend his days beside Archie.</p><p>"What about Polly, your children, your sister? Why aren't you with them? Why are you doing this?" Archie had to take a deep breath, feeling the need to sob, to scream build up in his chest, "Why am I wearing your shirt?" He didn't notice he was crying until there was a thumb on his cheek, brushing tears away gently. The grip on his hand tightened, grounding him when he felt like everything was spiraling.</p><p>"Why am I crying for you, I didn't even know you," he huffed, trying to smile but it just felt forced.</p><p>"No, but you know me now, more than anyone other than Cheryl ever has. If I had stayed with Cheryl, she would never have let me go, never move on. Polly loved me, and when I learned she was pregnant, I was ready to marry her, run away with her. I cared for her, I really did, but I never really loved her like she loved me. And I thought that maybe later I could learn to love her, that maybe if I got away from Riverdale I would be better for her. You know how that went. But I'm here because I felt connected to you, because I want to be here with you. I had some of my favorite clothes hidden away for when I got out of the river, and I don't know why, but I wanted to give you something. I wanted to see you in something of mine, wanted to feel like a part of me was always with you. It's kind of foolish of me, selfish, greedy, but you make me want things that I never have before. Even when I was alive, you made me feel desire for things I couldn't have."</p><p>Archie finally opened his eyes again, turning his head towards where Jason's voice was coming form. His heart stopped for a moment before rapidly speeding up as he found himself looking into Jason's eyes. The other's face was so close, his expression so gentle. He could see the ghost without a reflection now. He turned the rest of his body to face the other properly, a dumb smile on his face as he took in Jason.</p><p>"Hi there." He reached out, placing a hand on the other's chest, his eyes following his movements. He could feel the way the dead boy's chest rose and fell with his breathing. His hold on the pale teen's hand shifted to his wrist, finding a strong pulse under his fingertips. Looking back up to Jason's face, he saw the other looking at him with a mischievous smile. Quickly realizing that he had been feeling Jason up, he snatched his hands away as a blush ignited on his face.</p><p>"Oh no, please continue." Archie found himself blushing even harder if that was possible. The other's face came even closer, those steel blue eyes darting between his lips and his eyes. He couldn't breathe, couldn't focus on anything other than the redhead in front of him.</p><p>The moment was ruined when there was a harsh knocking on his door, followed by the sound of it being thrown open. Without even thinking about it, he pushed himself away from Jason, falling off his own bed in the process.</p><p>"Oh, sorry Archiekins, your dad let me in," Cheryl said cheerfully, closing the door behind her as she entered his room. He looked up to see Jason smiling at him from the bed, the other clearly trying not to laugh at the way Archie was a blushing mess sprawled out on the floor. He got up after a moment of catching his breath, sitting on the edge of his bed. Cheryl was looking around his room curiously, careful not to step on any clothes or papers carelessly littering the floor.</p><p>"So we need to talk," she asserted, coming to a stop in the middle of his room to look at him. Her stance was aggressive, but her face was paler than normal and her hands shook slightly. Archie was momentarily distracted by Jason moving to sit behind him, arms wrapping around him and face moving to rest on his shoulder. He found himself leaning back into the other, happy when the Blossom took his weight. Cheryl looked startled by the way the mattress moved in response to an unseen body, by the way something obviously had gotten his attention for a moment. She looked at him, desperate for an explanation, but he just awkwardly shrugged in response.</p><p>"That was Jay-Jay, wasn't it?" When he nods in response, she continues, "So I need to know what's going on. But first, can you tell me something only he would know?" Which he guesses is fair, despite the fact that there was clearly an entity hanging around him, it's identity was slightly unbelievable.</p><p>"You guys used to drive by the construction site over the summer and check me out," he tries, using some of what Jason had told him in the past.</p><p>"You could've seen us, try again Archiekins," she sneers.</p><p>"Her favorite color is red, but not because of our hair like she claims. When we were little, our parents took us to a maple syrup convention in Vermont and all the trees were red. Before her favorite color had been purple, but after that, it was red." He relays the message to Cheryl, watching as the displeasure disappears from her face with every word to leave nothing but shock.</p><p>"God, it really is him," she murmurs, tears building in her eyes, "What exactly is going on here?" He started to tense up, unsure of how much to tell her.</p><p>"Just tell her everything, please. I know some of it is personal, but she's been through a lot," Jason asks of him, arms tightening around his middle. He nods, taking a deep breath before diving into his story.</p><p>"So let me get this straight; you've been seeing my brother since you pulled me from the ice, but you didn't tell either of us until today?" Well, put like that, he sounded like a huge asshole. Ashamed, he simply nodded.</p><p>"Archiekins, you are an utter and complete moron." Again, all he could do was nod.</p><p>"Hey, I can't be mad at you. Nothing about this normal, and I can't blame you for not knowing what to do," Jason tried to soothe, but it didn't really help all that much.</p><p>"What did he say?" Cheryl asked, clearly noticing how he had leaned more into the other in response to something.</p><p>"He said that he isn't mad at me."</p><p>"Of course he isn't, Jason isn't that kind of person," she sighed, giving him a softer look, "And I'm not mad at you, Archie, I'm just frustrated." But Archie felt her disappoint in him, in the person he was supposed to be, like a physical sensation.</p><p>"I should've told you guys when I first started seeing him," he insisted, squeezing the hands around his waist like the ghost could ground him.</p><p>"What's done is done," the twins said in sync, causing him to break out in goosebumps. Both of the Blossoms had to have noticed, but neither said anything.</p><p>"Is there a way for me to talk to you, alone?" Cheryl asked him seriously after a moment. All he could do was look over his shoulder to Jason for a response. He hoped his expression conveyed that he wasn't going to make Jason leave if he didn't want to, especially when he saw the panic on the other's face. It took a moment for the redhead to calm down and think over his sister's request before he slowly nodded.</p><p>"I'll give you guys a minute, I'll just be downstairs if you need me," he murmured, giving Archie a peck on the cheek before getting off the bed. This in turn left a void where a body was previously pressed up against his own, leaving Archie cold.</p><p>"He's gone," he confirmed, though it was unnecessary, once Jason shut the door behind himself.</p><p>"I have so many things that I want to ask you, but I didn't know how Jason would react," she explained, but it seemed like she was stalling, looking anywhere but directly at him.</p><p>"Such as?"</p><p>"Are you okay with my brother hanging around you like this?" she began, continuing when she saw his offence at her words, "It's not exactly like you can get rid of him, even if you wanted to. Anyone else would be upset at the lack of privacy, the invasion of personal space."</p><p>"I don't mind," he answered, continuing when Cheryl didn't look convinced, "Really, I don't! Yeah, it was weird at first, and there are somethings that I couldn't do because I wasn't comfortable with Jason being there to witness everything. But he was here when shit was going down with my dad, with Hiram, with the Serpents, and I don't know if I would have made it through it all without him."</p><p>"What's going on with you two? Like, you guys seem close, like, boyfriend close. And I don't know how I feel about that because he's dead, Archie." She said he last bit softly, as if he was deluding himself. And maybe he was, but Archie didn't really care anymore.</p><p>"I don't know, this kind of just happened. And I know he's dead, Cheryl, I know that all too well. But I've never felt like this before, not with anyone," he answered, more honest than he had been intending.</p><p>"You love him," she gasped, hugging him tightly when all he could do was nod, "Oh, Archie." She was happy for him, and proud that he had told her. But it was obvious that there were reservations, that there were so many obstacles and taboos.</p><p>"Final question. Why did he choose to follow you around? Like, why didn't he want to watch over me? Does he blame me-" He cut her off before she could finish her rambling, trying to soothe his friend for once instead of it being the other way around.</p><p>"Cheryl, it's not like that. Your brother still loves you, and he doesn't blame you at all for what happened to him. As for why he chose to follow me, and continue to hang around me, he said that it just felt right to him," he explained, taking her into his arms as she attempted to wipe harshly at her face.</p><p>"Thanks, Archiekins," she murmured into his shoulder, clutching him tightly like he was the only thing holding her together. And right now, maybe he was. Cheryl's life hadn't been easy since the passing of her brother, maybe it hasn't even been great before then either. But he was here right now, and neither of them were alone through this anymore.</p><p>"I'm going to go, I need to process all this," Cheryl decided after awhile, after her tears had stopping, "Make sure Jay-Jay knows I love him."</p><p>"Will do," he assured as she left his room, falling back onto his bed in a daze. The emotionally charged discussions had left him drained, but he knew that they weren't done yet. It wasn't long before Jason's form was appearing in the center the bedroom, looking at him fondly.</p><p>"Do I want to know what she wanted to ask you about?"</p><p>"I think it'd be best if it stayed between us," Archie decided hesitantly, not wanting the other to worry about what Cheryl had asked about, "Just know that your sister loves you."</p><p>"I'll keep that in mind. And what about you?"</p><p>"What about me?"</p><p>"Do you love me too?" His tone was cheeky, but there was a seriousness in his eyes that belayed his true thoughts.</p><p>"You can't just ask that," he chided, blushing and covered his face bashfully.</p><p>"And why can't I? After all, I love you."</p><p>"You're dead, Jason. How is this supposed to work?" he sighed, freezing when he realized how negatively his words had sounded. But it was too late to correct himself, because the other teen was already on a roll.</p><p>"If you want to be with me, that's all that matters. You think I haven't thought about what this means? That I'll always just be your ghost, watching you age and live your life until you die of old age or stupidity? That if we do this, I'll always be holding you back. I can't give you anything, Archie. I can't give you a future, I can't give you dates at Pop's. All I can give you is myself and hope that it's enough," Jason rants as he paces, his voice raising until he's screaming. And it breaks Archie's heart, seeing the other like this, being stuck in this situation. And he notices things begin to move around his room, even without Jason touching them. Papers falling off his desk from an unseen breeze, curtains rippling, hangers clinking together.</p><p>"It is enough!" he shouts back, but the other just sneers. This isn't a side of Jason he'd even seen before, this rage. To be honest, it scared him. And the unseen wind began to get stronger, turning into a cyclone of papers and clothes and posters with Jason standing at the center.</p><p>"Really? Then tell me you love me too. Tell me that you're mine and I'm yours. Tell me that you'll never leave me. Tell me that you love me!"</p><p>"Jason, stop it!" he pleaded, trying to avoid getting hit with anything as heavier items began to lift off, like his pillows, his lamp, his books, etc. It was beginning to get dangerous.</p><p>"Stop what, Archie? Stop asking things of you that you aren't willing to give me? Stop asking for you to love me, to say you love me?" The ghost was missing his point, not even noticing the chaos that he was causing. Jason was frankly unhinged in this moment, finally at his breaking point. And he deserved it, he was allowed to be angry, to be frustrated, to be heard for the first time since his death. All he had was Archie, and he didn't know if that was enough.</p><p>"You need to calm down before-" he's cut off as something finally makes contact with his face. If he had to guess, he'd say it was probably his guitar. All he knows for sure is that the blow sends him tumbling off the bed and onto the ground, seeing nothing but black for a moment. And once the shock wears off, he registers the pain.</p><p>"Archie!" he hears Jason call out before the other appears at his side, everything in the background crashing down to the floor as he does, "What happened? Are you okay?"</p><p>"I'm fine, just a little dizzy. And it seems like you've develop a new ability; poltergeist," he attempted to joke, but it fell flat as the other was still panicking, pulling him into his lap to check him over carefully.</p><p>"What? But I didn't mean to, I would never purposely hurt you like that," Jason insisted, something like despair settling on his face. Archie grabbed the hands that were frantically hovering over him, wanting to touch but afraid to.</p><p>"I know, it's okay. You didn't mean to, you weren't in control."</p><p>"But I should've been. I mean, look at your room, I've destroyed it! I don't even know why I was so upset, why I needed-"</p><p>"It's my fault for just not telling you what you needed to hear." And he didn't even know why the words just wouldn't come out, why he had chosen now to be shy about saying what he was feeling.</p><p>"Archie, you don't need to be forced-"</p><p>"But I do need a push every now and then. I'm a coward, but I do love you," he interjected, pulling the other into a kiss when he had said his piece. It was very effective in distracting Jason, as he quickly moved on from his pity party to pinning Archie against the floor. It was desperate, like he was stopping the other from leaving. But he didn't mind, settling beneath the other easily, even pulling him closer.</p><p>"Well, this has been quite the development," he teased when they finally broke apart, placing searing kisses on Archie's neck. And he knew that he didn't want to be anywhere else than right here, right now, in the wreckage of his room with his ghost boyfriend. For now, this was enough; for both of them.</p>
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